WHAT WE DO

Create value from your sustainability challenges

The road to sustainability is an ever evolving challenge for any organisation. No industry is insulated from the problem of plastic pollution. To solve this, it is critical that we both eliminate harmful plastic types but also create an effective after-use plastics economy for material types that deliver economic benefits and can be sustainable if properly managed. We need commercial solutions that are collaborative, creative and scalable. At Reflow this is what we’re truly passionate about. We harness 3D printing technology to create high value applications for recycled plastics, natural fibers and bio materials that can fuel design and enterprise in your organisation.

What we do for you

Full Material Analysis

To establish if a plastic type is recyclable for 3d printing, we must first identify its precise material composition. With in house expertise, machinery and partnerships with leading scientific institutions, we perform the most in depth testing available on your plastic waste and material streams.

Recycling Consultancy

Recycling is a complex activity where many factors must be considered to choose the right approach. Are there viable, existing techniques? What are the economic costs involved? Is this scalable? We help you navigate these challenging questions to find the right solution for your specific needs.

Material Development

Once we’ve identified opportunities within your material ecosystem, we then work to create an initial batch of recycled 3D printing materials. This is the core of Reflow’s technical expertise, production and testing cycles via a process called extrusion, that occurs at our dedicated production facility in Amsterdam.

Modification & Blending

To create quality 3D printing materials, we must deliver material properties matched to your application. This may require the development of composite materials where recycled thermoplastics are combined with fibers or additives. Reflow is experienced at working to detailed briefs with other engineering, material and design teams.

Customised Production

Often clients approach us with a stream that requires classification and material development. Other times, they approach us seeking an undetermined material solution. Here, we can dip into our recycling ecosystem to identify and assemble the component parts you need with from a variety of recycled sources.

Design & Fabrication

Our goal is to help you create outstanding sustainable products. Over the years we’ve worked with the most pioneering fabricators in the industry. Most have specific offerings depending on the size, volume or complexity of the design. We connect you to the right team to make your vision a reality.

Let's Talk.

Have you got an exciting collaborative idea?
Big or small, early stage or developed, we’d love to hear it.

Let's collaborate

Proud to have worked on

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SUSTAINABLE RETAIL ENVIRONMENTS

Bottletop

Additive manufacturing enables brands to create in-store environments straight from their imagination while remaining environmentally friendly. Fashion brand Bottletop were early adopters of sustainable 3D printing. Together with design team AI Build, in 2016 we created an in-store environment on Regent Street using the equivalent of 60,000 plastic bottles of recycled material. It was a landmark build and remains in place today.

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CONTINUOUS LENS RECYCLING SYSTEM

Ace & Tate

In 2020, Reflow began a pioneering project with A&T to assess sizeable streams of lens waste and determine their viability for 3D printing and other techniques like injection moulding. We identified rPMMA as a material with huge potential and together completed a successful pilot to transform tonnes of this recycled material into a viable manufacturing input. Our collaboration continues to evolve as the materials are integrated into the design of new products, inform supply chain organisation and we prefect an ongoing recycling system.

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LARGE SCALE PROJECTION MAPPING INSTALLATION

Refik Anadol

Refik is a paradigm shifting media artist and designer. His work employs innovative tools within machine learning, architecture, project mapping, data sculpture and painting to create vivid, shape shifting, dream-like environments. In 2021 Reflow joined a cross disciplinary team for his Biennale installation, “Sense of Space: Molecular Architecture”. The final result was a profound exploration of brain architecture and machine dreaming that used over 1,600 kg’s of Reflow recycled plastic material otherwise bound for landfill, our seas or air.

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CIRCULAR TOOLING

KLM

In 2018, Reflow was selected to co-create an innovative recycling to digital fabrication system within KLM. Our goal was to identify and transform plastic waste streams within the ecosystem into high-performance 3D printing materials. Working with recycling partners, a circular model was designed and an ongoing production relationship formed. These recycled materials have been used by engineering departments for the creation of tools in a multitude of functions.

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SUSTAINABLE FIBRE COMPOSITE DEVELOPMENT

Automotive industry

In 2020, Reflow undertook a project to develop a sustainable, fibre composite material for automotive and bicycle manufacturing. Our team has applied extensive knowledge in blended material development and our familiarity with European recyclers to develop a high-performance engineering material. We completed development of our recycled Nylon Carbon Fibre material range that even matches the performance of our virgin competitors. The recycled PA6 is sourced from recycled fishing nets and the fibers from the biproducts of aerospace manufacturing.Reflow partnered with innovative fabrication team DAM for extensive roadtesting of multiple material recipes.

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SUSTAINABLE LABORATORIES

Novo Nordisk

In 2021, Reflow and Novo Nordisk began a collaboration to identify and catalogue viable plastic streams within their vast laboratory ecosystem. We identified multiple high volume material flows of recyclable plastics that are optimal for a recycling to filament manufacturing systems and validated this process. In our next phase we will scale the processing of these streams and together with the Novo Nordisk team, match the material properties to product applications and fabrication.

WHO WE ARE

The sustainable material development agency

Our vision is a union of many fascinating disciplines, be they technical, design based, engineering, scientific or environmental. At Reflow we understand that to make real impact, we need to ensure these distinct perspectives comprehend each other and relish meaningful collaboration.

Find out more

OUR MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

From start to finish, we've got you covered